This invention relates in general to vehicle wheels and in particular to an improved vehicle wheel, especially a bead seat attached vehicle wheel, and method for producing the same.
A conventional bead seat attached vehicle wheel is of a two-piece construction and includes an inner wheel disc and an outer "full" wheel rim. The wheel disc can be cast, forged, or fabricated from steel, aluminum, or other alloys, and includes an inner annular wheel mounting portion and an outer annular portion. The wheel mounting portion defines an inboard mounting surface and includes a center pilot or hub hole, and a plurality of lug receiving holes formed therethrough for mounting the wheel to an axle of the vehicle. The wheel rim is fabricated from steel, aluminum, or other alloys, and includes an inboard tire bead seat retaining flange, an inboard tire bead seat, an axially extending well, an outboard tire bead seat, and an outboard tire bead seat retaining flange. In some instances, a three-piece wheel construction having a mounting cup secured to the wheel disc is used. In both types of constructions, the outer annular portion of the wheel disc is provided with an "angle" at the outer peripheral end of the wheel disc for securing the wheel disc to the wheel rim by welding. Typically, in a steel wheel disc, the angle is formed by machining off the material of the wheel disc. In an aluminum wheel disc, the angle is typically formed by a spinning operation.